Editing Half hitch

{{Short description|Type of knot}}
{{about|the knot|the cartoon sailor|Half Hitch (comic strip)}}
{{Knot-details
|     image=Half_hitch.jpg
|      name=Half hitch
|   caption=A half hitch tied around a pole
|     names=
|      type=hitch
|  strength=
|    origin=Ancient
|   related=[[Two half-hitches]], [[Clove hitch]], [[Munter hitch]], [[single hitch]]
| releasing=Non-jamming
|      uses=As part of other knots
|    caveat=
| abok_number= #50, #1662, #1663, #1026, #1717, #1780
}}
The '''half hitch''' is a simple [[List of hitch knots|hitch knot]], where the [[Knot#Working end|working end]] of a line is brought over and under the [[Knot#Standing part|standing part]].  Insecure on its own, it is a valuable component of a wide variety of useful and reliable [[List of hitch knots|hitches]], [[Bend knot|bends]], and [[knot]]s.

{{Quote|The half hitch is ''tied with one end'' of a rope which is passed around an object and secured to its own standing part with a [[single hitch]].|''[[The Ashley Book of Knots]]''<ref name="ABOK">Ashley, Clifford W. (1944). ''The Ashley Book of Knots'', Doubleday. {{ISBN|0-385-04025-3}}.</ref>{{rp|14}}}}

Securing an additional single hitch to the rope's standing part produces the related knot [[two half-hitches]].<ref name="ABOK" />{{rp|283}}Alternatively, a half hitch may be made secure on its own by placing the final crossing opposite to the turn around the working end. This locks the end in place, and holds fast as long as the hitch is loaded by a steady pull.<ref name="ABOK" />{{Rp|page=290}} A half hitch in this configuration is sometimes used to tie strings to the bridge of a [[classical guitar]].

[[File:Classical guitar bridge, showing tied strings.jpg|thumb|An instance of secure half-hitches, seen in the thicker strings on the left.]]

Another instance where a half hitch stands on its own without additional embellishment is when added to a [[timber hitch]] to help stabilize a load in the direction of pull. A timber hitch is tied on the far end of the load to bind it securely and a half hitch made at the forward end to serve as a guide for the rope. In this instance, the half hitch combined with a timber hitch is known as a [[killick hitch]] or kelleg hitch.<ref name="Killick Hitch">{{cite web |url=http://scoutpioneering.com/2013/02/12/favorite-pioneering-knots-timber-hitch/ | title=Favorite Pioneering Knots: Timber Hitch | work=www.scoutpioneering.com | date=12 February 2013 | access-date=2013-06-17}}</ref>

The knot is attractive to the eye and so is used decoratively for [[French whipping]] which is also known as ''half hitch whipping''.<ref>{{citation |title=Knots |author=Andrew Adamides |isbn=978-1-905765-07-2 |pages=62–63 |chapter=Half Hitch|year=2009 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of knots]]
*[[Buntline hitch]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Knots}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Half Hitch}}


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